The Maldivian archipelago took to
Islam
in the 12th century and consolidated as a sultanate, developing strong commercial and cultural ties with Asia and Africa. From the mid 16th-century, the region came under the increasing influence of European
colonial powers, with the Maldives becoming a British
protectorate
in 1887. Independence
from the United Kingdom was achieved in 1965 and a presidential republic
was established in 1968 with an elected People's Majlis. The ensuing decades have been characterised by political instability, efforts at democratic reform,[17]
and environmental challenges posed by climate change.[citation needed]

The Maldives was a
Commonwealth republic
from July 1982 until its withdrawal from the Commonwealth in October 2016 in protest of international criticism of its records in relation to corruption and human rights.

The name "Maldives" may derive from the
Malayalam
words maala
(garland) and dweepu
(island) or the Tamilmaalai
(garland / evening) and theevu
(island),[20]
or මාල දිවයින
(Maala Divaina, "Necklace Islands") in
Sinhala.[21]
The Maldivian people are called Dhivehin. The word
theevu
(archaic heevu, related to Tamil
தீவு,
dheevu) means "island", and
Dhives
(Dhivehin) means "islanders" (i.e., Maldivians).[citation needed]

The ancient Sri Lankan chronicle
Mahawamsa
refers to an island called Mahiladiva
("Island of Women", महिलादिभ) in
Pali, which is probably a mistranslation of the same
Sanskrit
word meaning "garland".

Jan S Hogendorn, Grossman Professor of Economics, theorises that the name Maldives derives from the Sanskrit
mālādvīpa
(मालाद्वीप), meaning "garland of islands".[20]
In Tamil, "Garland of Islands" can be translated as Malai Theevu
(மாலைத்தீவு).[22]
In Malayalam, "Garland of Islands" can be translated as Maladweepu
(മാലദ്വീപ്). In Kannada, "Garland of Islands" can be translated as
Maaledweepa
(ಮಾಲೆದ್ವೀಪ). None of these names is mentioned in any literature, but classical Sanskrit texts dating back to the
Vedic period
mention the "Hundred Thousand Islands" (Lakshadweepa), a generic name which would include not only the Maldives, but also the
Laccadives,
Aminidivi
Islands, Minicoy, and the
Chagos island
groups.[23]

Some medieval travellers such as
Ibn Battuta
called the islands Mahal Dibiyat
(محل دبيأت) from the
Arabic
word mahal
("palace"), which must be how the Berber
traveller interpreted the local name, having been through Muslim North India, where Perso-Arabic
words were introduced to the local vocabulary.[24]
This is the name currently inscribed on the scroll in the Maldive state emblem. The classical Persian/Arabic name for Maldives is
Dibajat.[25][26]
The Dutch referred to the islands as the Maldivische Eilanden
(pronounced[mɑlˈdivisə ˈɛi̯lɑndə(n)]), while the British
anglicised
the local name for the islands first to the "Maldive Islands" and later to "Maldives."

Garcia da Orta writes in his conversational book[27]
first published in 1563 as follows: "I must tell you that I have heard it said that the natives do not call it Maldiva but Nalediva. In the Malabar language nale
means four and diva
island. So that in that language the word signifies "four islands," while we, corrupting the name, call it Maldiva."

The first Maldivians did not leave any archaeological artifacts. Their buildings were probably built of wood, palm fronds and other perishable materials, which would have quickly decayed in the salt and wind of the tropical climate. Moreover, chiefs or headmen did not reside in elaborate stone palaces, nor did their religion require the construction of large temples or compounds.[28]

Comparative studies of Maldivian oral, linguistic and cultural traditions and customs confirm that the first settlers were people from the southern shores of the neighboring
Indian subcontinent,[29]
including the Giraavaru people
mentioned in ancient legends and local folklore about the establishment of the capital and kingly rule in Malé.[30]

A strong underlying layer of
Dravidian
population and culture survives in Maldivian society, with a clear Tamil-Malayalam
substratum in the language, which also appears in place names, kinship terms, poetry, dance, and religious beliefs. Malabari
seafaring culture led to the settlement of the Islands by Malayali
seafarers.[2]

Despite being just mentioned briefly in most history books, the 1,400-year-long Buddhist period has a foundational importance in the history of the Maldives. It was during this period that the culture of the Maldives as we now know it both developed and flourished. The Maldivian
language, the first Maldive
scripts, the architecture, the ruling institutions, the customs and manners of the Maldivians originated at the time when the Maldives were a Buddhist kingdom.[31]

Buddhism probably spread to the Maldives in the 3rd century BC at the time of Emperor
Ashoka's expansion, and became the dominant religion of the people of the Maldives until the 12th century AD. The ancient Maldivian Kings promoted
Buddhism, and the first Maldive writings and artistic achievements, in the form of highly developed sculpture and architecture, are from that period. Nearly all archaeological remains in the Maldives are from Buddhist
stupas
and monasteries, and all artifacts found to date display characteristic Buddhist iconography. Buddhist (and Hindu) temples were Mandala
shaped, they are oriented according to the four cardinal points, the main gate being towards the east. Local historian Hassan Ahmed Maniku counted as many as 59 islands with Buddhist archaeological sites in a provisional list he published in 1990.

A plaque in Juma Mosque, Malé, Maldives, on which Yusuf bin Ahmad al-Kawneyn's name is written. Yusuf Al Kowneyn was a Somali who is said to have converted Maldives in 12th century AD to
Islam.

The importance of the Arabs as traders in the Indian Ocean by the 12th century may partly explain why the last Buddhist king of Maldives
Dhovemi
converted to Islam
in the year 1153 (or 1193), adopting the Muslim title of Sultan Muhammad al Adil, and initiating a series of six Islamic dynasties that lasted until 1932 when the sultanate became elective.The formal title of the Sultan up to 1965 was, Sultan of Land and Sea, Lord of the twelve-thousand islands and Sultan of the Maldives
which came with the style Highness. The person traditionally deemed responsible for this conversion was a
Sunni
Muslim visitor named Abu al Barakat, stemming either from the Maghreb
(as according to Ibn Battutah[32]), from the Somalian port of
Berbera,[33]
or from the Persian town of Tabriz.[34]
His venerated tomb now stands on the grounds of Hukuru Mosque, or miski, in the capital of
Malé. Built in 1656, this is the oldest mosque in Maldives. Following the Islamic concept that before Islam there was the time of
Jahiliya
(ignorance), in the history books used by Maldivians the introduction of Islam
at the end of the 12th century is considered the cornerstone of the country's history.

Compared to the other areas of South Asia, the conversion of the Maldives to Islam happened relatively late. Arab Traders had converted populations in the
Malabar Coast
since the 7th century, and Muhammad Bin Qāsim
had converted large swathes of Sindh
to Islam at about the same time. The Maldives remained a Buddhist kingdom for another five hundred years after the conversion of Malabar Coast
and Sindh – perhaps as the south-westernmost Buddhist country. Arabic became the prime language of administration (instead of the Persian and Urdu), and the Maliki
school of jurisprudence was introduced, both hinting at direct contacts with the core of the Arab world.

Middle Eastern seafarers had just begun to take over the Indian Ocean trade routes in the 10th century and found Maldives to be an important link in those routes as the first landfall for traders from
Basra
sailing to Southeast Asia. Trade involved mainly cowrie shells
– widely used as a form of currency throughout Asia and parts of the East African coast – and coir fiber. The Bengal Sultanate, where cowrie shells were used as legal tender, was one of the principal trading partners of the Maldives. The Bengal-Maldives cowry shell trade was the largest shell currency trade network in history.[35]
The other essential product of the Maldives was coir, the fibre of the dried
coconuthusk, resistant to saltwater. It stitched together and rigged the
dhows
that plied the Indian Ocean. Maldivian coir was exported to Sindh, China, Yemen, and the
Persian Gulf.

18th-century map by Pierre Mortier of The Netherlands
depicting with detail the islands of the Maldives

In 1558 the Portuguese established a small garrison with a
Viador
(Viyazoru), or overseer of a
factory (trading post)
in the Maldives, which they administered from their main colony in Goa. Their attempts to impose Christianity provoked a local revolt led by
Muhammad Thakurufaanu Al-Azam
and his two brothers, that fifteen years later drove the Portuguese out of Maldives. This event is now commemorated as National Day. In the mid-17th century, the Dutch, who had replaced the Portuguese as the dominant power in Ceylon, established hegemony over Maldivian affairs without involving themselves directly in local matters, which were governed according to centuries-old Islamic customs.

The British expelled the Dutch from Ceylon in 1796 and included Maldives as a
British protected area. The status of Maldives as a British protectorate was officially recorded in an 1887 agreement in which the sultan accepted British influence over Maldivian external relations and defence while retaining home rule, which continued to be regulated by
Muslim
traditional institutions in exchange for an annual tribute. The status of the islands was akin to other British protectorates in the Indian Ocean region, including
Zanzibar
and the Trucial States.

In the British period the Sultan's powers were taken over by the Chief Minister, much to the chagrin of the British Governor-General who continued to deal with the ineffectual Sultan. Consequently, Britain encouraged the development of a
constitutional monarchy, and the first Constitution was proclaimed in 1932. However, the new arrangements favoured neither the aging Sultan nor the wily Chief Minister, but rather a young crop of British-educated reformists. As a result, angry mobs were instigated against the Constitution which was publicly torn up.

Maldives remained a British crown protectorate until 1953 when the sultanate was suspended and the First Republic was declared under the short-lived presidency of
Muhammad Amin Didi. While serving as prime minister during the 1940s, Didi nationalized the fish export industry. As president he is remembered as a reformer of the education system and a promoter of
women's rights. Muslim conservatives in Malé eventually ousted his government, and during a riot over food shortages, Didi was beaten by a mob and died on a nearby island.

Beginning in the 1950s, the political history in Maldives was largely influenced by the British military presence in the islands. In 1954 the restoration of the sultanate perpetuated the rule of the past. Two years later, the United Kingdom obtained permission to reestablish its wartime
RAF Gan
airfield in the southernmost Addu Atoll, employing hundreds of locals. In 1957, however, the new prime minister,
Ibrahim Nasir, called for a review of the agreement. Nasir was challenged in 1959 by a local secessionist movement in the three southernmost atolls that benefited economically from the British presence on
Gan. This group cut ties with the Maldives government and formed an independent state, the
United Suvadive Republic
with Abdullah Afif
as president and Hithadhoo
as capital. One year later the Suvadive republic was scrapped after Nasir sent gunboats from Malé with government police, and Abdulla Afif went into exile. Meanwhile, in 1960 the Maldives had allowed the United Kingdom to continue to use both the Gan
and the Hitaddu facilities for a thirty-year period, with the payment of £750,000 over the period of 1960 to 1965 for the purpose of Maldives' economic development.The base was closed in 1976 as part of the larger British withdrawal of permanently stationed forces 'East of Suez'.[36]

In line with the broader British policy of decolonisation on 26 July 1965 an agreement was signed on behalf of His Majesty the Sultan by Ibrahim Nasir Rannabandeyri Kilegefan, Prime Minister, and on behalf of
Her Majesty The Queen
by Sir Michael Walker, British Ambassador designate to the Maldive Islands, which ended the British responsibility for the defence and external affairs of the Maldives. The islands thus achieved full political independence, with the ceremony taking place at the British High Commissioner's Residence in Colombo. After this, the sultanate continued for another three years under Muhammad Fareed Didi, who declared himself King rather than Sultan.

On 15 November 1967, a vote was taken in parliament to decide whether the Maldives should continue as a
constitutional monarchy
or become a republic. Of the 44 members of parliament, forty voted in favour of a republic. On 15 March 1968, a national referendum was held on the question, and 93.34% of those taking part voted in favour of establishing a republic. The republic was declared on 11 November 1968, thus ending the 853-year-old monarchy, which was replaced by a republic under the presidency of Ibrahim Nasir. As the King had held little real power, this was seen as a cosmetic change and required few alterations in the structures of government.

Tourism
began to be developed on the archipelago
by the beginning of the 1970s. The first resort in the Maldives was Kurumba Maldives
which welcomed the first guests on 3 October 1972. The first accurate census was held in December 1977 and showed 142,832 persons residing in Maldives.[37]
Political infighting during the '70s between Nasir's faction and other political figures led to the 1975 arrest and exile of elected prime minister Ahmed Zaki
to a remote atoll. Economic decline followed the closure of the
British airfield at Gan
and the collapse of the market for dried fish, an important export. With support for his administration faltering, Nasir fled to Singapore in 1978, with millions of dollars from the treasury.

Maumoon Abdul Gayoom
began his 30-year role as President in 1978, winning six consecutive elections without opposition. His election was seen as ushering in a period of political stability and economic development in view of Gayoom's priority to develop the poorer islands. Tourism flourished and increased foreign contact spurred development. However, Gayoom's rule was controversial, with some critics saying Gayoom was an autocrat who quelled dissent by limiting freedoms and political favouritism.[38]

A series of coup attempts (in 1980, 1983, and 1988) by Nasir supporters and business interests tried to topple the government without success. While the first two attempts met with little success, the 1988 coup attempt involved a roughly 80-person mercenary force of the
PLOTE
who seized the airport and caused Gayoom to flee from house to house until the intervention of 1600 Indian troops
airlifted into Malé
restored order.

A November 1988 coup was headed by Muhammadu Ibrahim Lutfee, a small-businessman. On the night of 3 November 1988, the
Indian Air Force
airlifted a parachute battalion group from Agra
and flew them over 2,000 kilometres (1,200 mi) to the Maldives. The Indian paratroopers
landed at Hulule
and secured the airfield and restored the government rule at Malé within hours. The brief operation, labelled Operation Cactus, also involved the
Indian Navy.

On 26 December 2004, following the
2004 Indian Ocean earthquake, the
Maldives were devastated
by a tsunami. Only nine islands were reported to have escaped any flooding,[39][40]
while fifty-seven islands faced serious damage to critical infrastructure, fourteen islands had to be totally evacuated, and six islands were destroyed. A further twenty-one resort islands were forced to close because of tsunami damage. The total damage was estimated at more than US$400 million, or some 62% of the GDP.[41][42]
102 Maldivians and 6 foreigners reportedly died in the tsunami.[38]
The destructive impact of the waves on the low-lying islands was mitigated by the fact there was no continental shelf or land mass upon which the waves could gain height. The tallest waves were reported to be 14 feet (4.3 m) high.[43]

People in Malé
removing sand bags from a nearby construction site, to be used as a barrier to protect their homes from the flood, shortly after being hit by the tsunami
generated by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake.

During the later part of Gayoom's rule, independent political movements emerged in Maldives, which challenged the then-ruling
Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party
(Maldivian People's Party, MPP) and demanded democratic reform. The dissident journalist and activist Mohamed Nasheed
founded the Maldivian Democratic Party
(MDP) in 2003 and pressured Gayoom into allowing gradual political reforms.[44]
In 2008 a new constitution was approved and the first direct presidential elections
occurred, which were won by Mohamed Nasheed
in the second round. His administration faced many challenges, including the huge debt left by the previous government, the economic downturn following the 2004 tsunami, overspending (by means of overprinting of local currency rufiyaa), unemployment, corruption, and increasing drug use.[45][unreliable source?]
Taxation on goods was imposed for the first time in the country, and import duties were reduced in many goods and services. Social welfare benefits were given to those aged 65 years or older, single parents, and those with special needs.[38]

Social and political unrest grew in late 2011, following opposition campaigns in the name of protecting
Islam. Nasheed controversially resigned from office after large number of police and army mutinied in February 2012. Nasheed's vice president,
Mohammed Waheed Hassan, was sworn in as President.[46]
Nasheed was later arrested,[47]
convicted of terrorism, and sentenced to 13 years. The trial was widely seen as flawed and political. The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention called for Nasheed's immediate release.[48]

The
elections in late 2013
were highly contested. Former president Mohammed Nasheed won the most votes in the first round, but the Supreme Court annulled it despite the positive assessment of international election observers. In the re-run vote Abdulla Yameen, half-brother of the former president Gayoom, assumed the presidency.[44]
Yameen introduced increased engagement with China, and promoted a policy of connecting Islam with anti-Western rhetoric.[44]
Yameen survived an assassination attempt in late 2015.[49]
Vice president Ahmed Adeeb
was later arrested together with 17 supporters for "public order offences" and the government instituted a broader crackdown against political dissent. A state of emergency
was later declared ahead of a planned anti-government rally,[50]
and the people's Majlis
accelerated the removal of Vice president Ahmed Adeeb.[51][52]

Though the popular image of the Maldives is that of a holiday paradise, its radicalised youths are enlisting in significant numbers to fight for
ISIL
militants in the Middle East.[53]

On February 3, 2018, Parliament dissolved and the military occupied the capital. On February 5, the supreme court of Maldives released three imprisoned opposition leaders, including former President
Mohammed Nasheed. The court also provided relief to 12 ministers who had been removed from President
Abdullah Yameen's ruling party. Yameen refused to comply with the court order and imposed a state of emergency to last for 15 days. Protesters demonstrated on the streets against President Abdullah Yemen after the announcement of the emergency.[54][55]

The Maldives consists of 1,192
coral islands
grouped in a double chain of 26 atolls, along the north-south direction, spread over roughly 90,000 square kilometres (35,000 sq mi), making this one of the world's most dispersed countries. It lies between latitudes
1°S
and 8°N, and longitudes
72°
and 74°E. The atolls are composed of live
coral reefs
and sand bars, situated atop a submarine ridge 960 kilometres (600 mi) long that rises abruptly from the depths of the Indian Ocean and runs north to south.

Only near the southern end of this natural coral barricade do two open passages permit safe ship navigation from one side of the Indian Ocean to the other through the territorial waters of Maldives. For administrative purposes the Maldivian government organised these atolls into twenty one
administrative divisions. The largest island of Maldives is
Gan, which belongs to Laamu Atoll or Hahdhummathi Maldives. In
Addu Atoll
the westernmost islands are connected by roads over the reef (collectively called Link Road) and the total length of the road is 14 km (9 mi).

Maldives is the lowest country in the world, with maximum and average natural ground levels of only 2.4 metres (7 ft 10 in) and 1.5 metres (4 ft 11 in) above sea level, respectively. In areas where construction exists, however, this has been increased to several metres. More than 80 per cent of the country's land is composed of coral islands which rise less than one metre above sea level.[56]
As a result, the Maldives are at high risk of being submerged due to rising sea levels. The UN's environmental panel has warned that, at current rates, sea level rise would be high enough to make the Maldives uninhabitable by 2100.[57][58]

The Maldives has a
tropical monsoon climate
(Am) under the Köppen climate classification, which is affected by the large landmass of South Asia to the north. The presence of this landmass causes differential heating of land and water. These factors set off a rush of moisture-rich air from the Indian Ocean over South Asia, resulting in the southwest
monsoon. Two seasons dominate Maldives' weather: the dry season associated with the winter northeastern monsoon and the rainy season which brings strong winds and storms.

The shift from the dry northeast monsoon to the moist southwest monsoon occurs during April and May. During this period, the southwest winds contribute to the formation of the southwest monsoon, which reaches Maldives in the beginning of June and lasts until the end of August. However, the weather patterns of Maldives do not always conform to the monsoon patterns of South Asia. The annual rainfall averages 254 centimetres (100 in) in the north and 381 centimetres (150 in) in the south.[60]

The monsoonal influence is greater in the north of the Maldives than in the south, more influenced by the
equatorial currents.

The
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's 2007 report predicted the upper limit of the sea level rises will be 59 centimetres (23 in) by 2100, which means that most of the republic's 200 inhabited islands may need to be abandoned.[63]
One study appears to show that the sea level in the Maldives dropped 20–30 centimetres (8–12 in) throughout the 1970s and '80s, although later studies failed to back this up.[64]
The observed rate of sea level rise is only 1.7–1.8 millimetres per year.[65]

According to former Maldivian president
Mohamed Nasheed, the Maldives are ranked the third most endangered nation due to flooding from
climate change.[66]
In March and April 2012, Nasheed stated, "If carbon emissions were to stop today, the planet would not see a difference for 60 to 70 years." "If carbon emissions continue at the rate they are climbing today, my country will be under water in seven years." He called for more climate change mitigation
action while on the American television shows The Daily Show[67]
and the Late Show with David Letterman.[68]
This opinion was disputed in 2012, when the next President said: "The good news is that Maldives is not about to disappear....on the basis of technical and scientific information that we have, that we will be able to manage climate change in the Maldives and prolong the life for the islands and for our life on these islands."[69]

In November 2008, President Mohamed Nasheed announced plans to look into purchasing new land in India, Sri Lanka, and Australia because of his concerns about global warming, and the possibility of much of the islands being inundated with water from rising sea levels. The purchase of land will be made from a fund generated by tourism.[70]
The President has explained his intentions: "We do not want to leave the Maldives, but we also do not want to be climate refugees
living in tents for decades".[71]
On 22 April 2008, then President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom
pleaded for a cut in global greenhouse gas
emissions, warning that rising sea levels could submerge the island nation of Maldives.[72][73]

By 2020, Maldives plans to eliminate or offset all of its greenhouse gas emissions. At the 2009 International Climate Talks, President Mohamed Nasheed explained that:

For us swearing off fossil fuels is not only the right thing to do, it is in our economic self-interest... Pioneering countries will free themselves from the unpredictable price of foreign oil; they will capitalise on the new green economy of the future, and they will enhance their moral standing giving them greater political influence on the world stage.[74]

Other environmental issues include bad waste disposal and
beach theft. Although the Maldives are kept relatively pristine and little
litter
can be found on the islands, no good waste disposal
sites exist. Most trash from Male and other resorts is simply dumped at Thilafushi.[75]

The Maldives have a range of different habitats including deep sea, shallow coast, and reef ecosystems, fringing mangroves, wetlands and dry land. There are 187 species of coral forming the
coral reefs. This area of the Indian Ocean, alone, houses 1100
species
of fish, 5 species of sea turtle, 21 species of whale and dolphin, 400 species of mollusc, and 83 species of echinoderms. The area is also populated by a number of crustacean species: 120 copepod, 15 amphipod, as well as more than 145 crab and 48 shrimp species.[76]

These coral reefs are home to a variety of marine ecosystems that vary from
planktonic
organisms to whale sharks. Sponges have gained importance as five species have displayed anti-tumor and anti-cancer properties.[79]

In an effort to induce the regrowth of the reefs, scientists placed electrified cones anywhere from 20–60 feet (6.1–18.3 m) below the surface to provide a substrate for larval coral attachment. In 2004, scientists witnessed corals regenerating. Corals began to eject pink-orange eggs and sperm. The growth of these electrified corals was five times faster than untreated corals.[80]
Scientist Azeez Hakim stated:

before 1998, we never thought that this reef would die. We had always taken for granted that these animals would be there, that this reef would be there forever. El Niño gave us a wake-up call that these things are not going to be there for ever. Not only this, they also act as a natural barrier against the tropical storms, floods and tsunamis. Seaweeds grow on the skeletons of dead coral.[77]

Again, in 2016, the coral reefs of the Maldives experienced a
severe bleaching incident. Up to 95% of coral around some islands have died, and, even after six months, 100% of young coral transplants died. The surface water temperatures reached an all-time high in 2016, at 31 degrees Celsius in May.[81]

Recent scientific studies suggest that the faunistic composition can vary greatly between neighbour atolls, especially in terms of benthic fauna. Differences in terms of fishing pressure (including poaching) could be the cause.[82]

Maldives is a
presidential
republic, with the President as head of government
and head of state. The President heads the executive branch and appoints the cabinet which is approved by the
People's Majlis (Parliament). Following the introduction of a new constitution in 2008, direct elections for the President take place every five years, with a limit of two terms in office for any individual. The current President is
Abdulla Yameen.[83]
Members of the unicameral
Majlis serve five-year terms, with the total number of members determined by atoll populations. At the 2009 election, 77 members were elected. The People's Majlis, located in Male, houses members from all over the country.[3]

The republican constitution came into force in 1968, and was amended in 1970, 1972, and 1975. On 27 November 1997 it was replaced by another Constitution assented to by the President
Gayoom. This Constitution came into force on 1 January 1998. All stated that the
president
was the Head of State, Head of Government and the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces
and the Police of the Maldives. A third Constitution
was ratified in 2008, which separated the judiciary
from the head of state.

In 2018, tensions with opposition and subsequent crackdown was termed as an "Assault on democracy" by the
UN Human Rights
chief.[84]

According to the
Constitution of Maldives, "the judges are independent, and subject only to the Constitution and the law. When deciding matters on which the Constitution or the law is silent, judges must consider Islamic
Shari'ah". Article 15 of the Act Number 1/81 (Penal Code) gives provision for
hudud
punishments.[85]
Article 156 of the constitution states that law includes the norms and provisions of sharia.[86]

Islam is the official religion of the Maldives and open practice of any other religion is forbidden and liable to prosecution. Article 2 of the revised constitution says that the republic "is based on the principles of Islam". Article nine says that "a non-Muslim may not become a citizen"; article ten says that "no law contrary to any principle of Islam can be applied". Article nineteen states that "citizens are free to participate in or carry out any activity that is not expressly prohibited by sharia [Islamic law] or by the law".

The requirement to adhere to a particular religion and prohibition of public worship following other religions is contrary to Article 18 of the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
and Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
to which Maldives has recently become party[87]
and was addressed in Maldives' reservation in adhering to the Covenant claiming that "The application of the principles set out in Article 18 of the Covenant shall be without prejudice to the Constitution of the Republic of the Maldives."[88]

Human rights in the Maldives is a contentious issue. In its 2011
Freedom in the World
report, Freedom House
declared the Maldives "Partly Free", claiming a reform process which had made headway in 2009 and 2010 had stalled.[89]
The United States Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor
claims in their 2012 report on human rights practices in the country that the most significant problems are corruption, lack of religious freedom, and abuse and unequal treatment of women.[90]
In February 2013, the court sentenced a 15-year-old rape victim to 100 lashes and 8 months of house arrest for having had extra-marital relations. The conviction was based on the confession of the girl shortly after being raped by her stepfather[91]Same-sex relations
are illegal in the Maldives.[92]

Since 1996, the Maldives has been the official progress monitor of the
Indian Ocean Commission. In 2002, the Maldives began to express interest in the commission but as of 2008[update]
had not applied for membership. Maldives' interest relates to its identity as a small island state, especially economic development and environmental preservation, and its desire for closer relations with France, a main actor in the IOC region.

The Maldives National Defence Force is the combined security organisation responsible for defending the security and sovereignty of the Maldives, having the primary task of being responsible for attending to all internal and external security needs of the Maldives, including the protection of the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and the maintenance of peace and security. The MNDF component branches are the Coast Guard, Marine Corps, Special Forces, Service Corps and the Corps of Engineers.

As a water-bound nation much of the security concerns lie at sea. Almost 99% of the country is covered by sea and the remaining 1% land is scattered over an area of 800 km (497 mi) × 120 km (75 mi), with the largest island being not more than 8 km2
(3 sq mi). Therefore, the duties assigned to the MNDF of maintaining surveillance over Maldives' waters and providing protection against foreign intruders poaching in the EEZ and territorial waters, are immense tasks from both logistical and economic viewpoints.

The Coast Guard plays a vital role in carrying out these functions. To provide timely security its patrol boats are stationed at various MNDF Regional Headquarters. The Coast Guard is also assigned to respond to the maritime distress calls and to conduct search and rescue operations in a timely manner. Maritime pollution control exercises are conducted regularly on an annual basis for familiarisation and handling of such hazardous situations.

Each administrative atoll is marked, along with the thaana
letter used to identify the atoll. Natural atolls are labelled in light blue. Full view of the map.

The Maldives has twenty-six natural
atolls
and few island groups on isolated reefs, all of which have been divided into twenty-one administrative divisions (19 administrative atolls and cities of Malé
and Addu).[95]

Each atoll is administered by an elected Atoll Council. The islands are administered by an elected Island Council.

Between 2008 and 2010 the Maldives had 7 provinces each consisting of the following administrative divisions (the capital Malé is its own administrative division):

In addition to a name, every administrative division is identified by the Maldivian code letters, such as "Haa Alif" for
Thiladhunmati Uthuruburi
(Thiladhunmathi North); and by a Latin code letter. The first corresponds to the geographical Maldivian name of the atoll; the second is a code adopted for convenience. As there are certain islands in different atolls that have the same name, for administrative purposes this code is quoted before the name of the island, for example: Baa Funadhoo, Kaafu Funadhoo, Gaafu-Alifu Funadhoo. Since most Atolls have very long geographical names it is also used whenever the long name is inconvenient, for example in the atoll website names.[96]

The introduction of code-letter names has been a source of much puzzlement and misunderstandings, especially among foreigners. Many people have come to think that the code-letter of the administrative atoll is its new name and that it has replaced its geographical name. Under such circumstances it is hard to know which is the correct name to use.[96]

In ancient times the Maldives were renowned for
cowry shells,
coir
rope, dried tuna
fish (Maldive Fish), ambergris
(Maavaharu), and coco de mer
(Tavakkaashi). Local and foreign trading ships used to load these products in Sri Lanka and transport them to other harbours in the Indian Ocean.

The Maldivian government began an
economic reform
programme in 1989, initially by lifting import quotas and opening some exports to the private sector. Subsequently, it has liberalised regulations to allow more foreign investment. Real GDP growth averaged over 7.5% per year for more than a decade. Today, the Maldives' largest industry is tourism, accounting for 28% of GDP and more than 60% of the Maldives' foreign exchange receipts. Fishing is the second leading sector.

The Maldivian economy is to a large degree based on tourism. In late December 2004, the
major tsunamileft more than 100 dead, 12,000 displaced, and property damage exceeding $400 million. As a result of the tsunami, the GDP contracted by about 3.6% in 2005. A rebound in tourism, post-tsunami reconstruction, and development of new resorts helped the economy recover quickly and showed an 18% increase on 2006. 2013 estimates show Maldivians enjoy the highest GDP (PPP) per capita $11,900 (2013 est) among south Asian countries.

Agriculture and manufacturing continue to play a lesser role in the economy, constrained by the limited availability of cultivable land and the shortage of domestic labour. Tourism gave a major boost to the country's fledgling traditional
cottage industries
such as mat weaving, lacquer
work, handicraft, and coir rope making. New industries that have since emerged include printing, production of
PVCpipes, brick making, marine engine repairs, bottling of
aerated water, and garment production.

The Maldives remained largely unknown to tourists until the early 1970s. Only 185 islands are home to its 300,000 inhabitants. The other islands are used entirely for economic purposes, of which tourism and agriculture are the most dominant. Tourism accounts for 28% of the GDP and more than 60% of the Maldives' foreign exchange receipts. Over 90% of government tax revenue comes from import duties and tourism-related taxes.

The development of tourism fostered the overall growth of the
country's economy. It created direct and indirect employment and income generation opportunities in other related industries. The first tourist resorts were opened in 1972 with Bandos island resort and Kurumba Village (the current name is Kurumba Maldives),[99]
which transformed the Maldives economy.

According to the
Ministry of Tourism, the emergence of tourism in 1972 transformed the economy, moving rapidly from dependence on fisheries to tourism. In just three and a half decades, the industry became the main source of income. Tourism was also the country's biggest foreign currency earner and the single largest contributor to the GDP. As of 2008[update], 89 resorts in the Maldives offered over 17,000 beds and hosted over 600,000 tourists annually.[100]

The number of resorts increased from 2 to 92 between 1972 and 2007. As of 2007[update], over 8,380,000 tourists had visited Maldives.[101]

Visitors to the Maldives do not need to apply for a visa pre-arrival, regardless of their country of origin, provided they have a valid passport, proof of onward travel, and the money to be self-sufficient while in the country.[102]

Most visitors arrive at
Malé International Airport, on
Hulhulé
Island, adjacent to the capital Malé. The airport is served by flights to and from India, Sri Lanka, Doha,
Dubai, Singapore, Istanbul, and major airports in South-East Asia, as well as charters from Europe.
Gan Airport, on the southern atoll of
Addu, also serves an international flight to
Milan
several times a week. British Airways
offers direct flights to the Maldives around 2–3 times per week.

For many centuries the Maldivian economy was entirely dependent on fishing and other
marine
products. Fishing remains the main occupation of the people and the government gives priority to the fisheries sector.

The
mechanisation
of the traditional fishing boat
called dhoni
in 1974 was a major milestone in the development of the fisheries industry. A fish canning plant was installed on Felivaru
in 1977, as a joint venture with a Japanese firm. In 1979, a Fisheries Advisory Board was set up with the mandate of advising the government on policy guidelines for the overall development of the fisheries sector. Manpower development programmes began in the early 1980s, and fisheries education was incorporated into the school curriculum. Fish aggregating devices
and navigational aids were located at various strategic points. Moreover, the opening up of the exclusive economic zone
(EEZ) of the Maldives for fisheries has further enhanced the growth of the fisheries sector.

As of 2010[update], fisheries contributed over 15% of the country's GDP and engaged about 30% of the country's work force. Fisheries were also the second-largest foreign exchange earner after
tourism.

In the past there was also a small
Tamil
population known as the Giraavaru people. This group have now been almost completely absorbed into the larger Maldivian society but were once native to the island of
Giraavaru (Kaafu Atoll).[citation needed]
This island was evacuated in 1968 due to heavy erosion of the island.

Some social stratification exists on the islands. It is not rigid, since rank is based on varied factors, including occupation, wealth, Islamic virtue, and family ties. Instead of a complex
caste
system, there was merely a distinction between noble (bēfulhu) and common people in the Maldives. Members of the social elite are concentrated in Malé.

The population doubled by 1978, and the
population growth
rate peaked at 3.4% in 1985. At the 2006 census, the population had reached 298,968,[103]
although the census in 2000 showed that the population growth rate had declined to 1.9%. Life expectancy at birth stood at 46 years in 1978, and later rose to 72. Infant mortality has declined from 12.7% in 1977 to 1.2% today, and adult literacy reached 99%. Combined school enrolment reached the high 90s. The population was projected to have reached 317,280 in 2010.[104]

As of April 2008, more than 70,000 foreign employees, along with 33,000 illegal immigrants, comprised more than one third of the Maldivian population.[citation needed]. There are 40,000
Bangladeshis in the Maldives, making them the largest group of foreigners working in that country.[105]
Other immigrants include Filipinos in the Maldives
as well as various Western expatriates.

After the long Buddhist[107]
period of Maldivian history, Muslim traders introduced Islam. Maldivians converted to Islam by the mid-12th century. The islands have had a long history of Sufic
orders, as can be seen in the history of the country such as the building of tombs. They were used until as recently as the 1980s for seeking the help of buried saints. They can be seen next to some old mosques and are considered a part of Maldives's
cultural heritage.

Other aspects of
tassawuf, such as ritualised
dhikr
ceremonies called Maulūdu (Mawlid)—the
liturgy
of which included recitations and certain supplications in a melodical tone—existed until very recent times. These Maulūdu festivals were held in ornate tents specially built for the occasion. At present Islam is the official religion of the entire population, as adherence to it is required for citizenship.

According to Moroccan traveller
Ibn Battuta, the person responsible for this conversion was a Sunni Muslim visitor named
Abu al-Barakat, sailing from
Morocco. He is also referred to as
Tabrizugefaanu. His venerated tomb now stands on the grounds of the Friday Mosque, or
Hukuru Miskiy, in Malé. Built in 1656, this is the country's oldest mosque.

Since the 12th century AD there were also influences from
Arabia
in the language and culture of the Maldives because of the conversion to Islam and its location as a crossroads in the central Indian Ocean. This was due to the long trading history between the far east and the middle east. Somali
travellers discovered the island for gold in the 13th century, before the Portuguese. Their brief stay later ended in a bloody conflict known by the Somalis as "Dagaal Diig Badaaney" in 1424.

However, unlike the Sinhalese of Sri Lanka and most of the Arabs, Africans and Europeans whose influence can be seen in borrow-words, material culture, and the diversity of Maldivian phenotype, Maldivians do not have the highly embedded patriarchal codes of honour, purity, corporate marriage, and sedentary private property that are typical of places where agriculture is the key form of subsistence and social relations have been built, historically, around tribute taking.[citation needed]

Reflective of this is the fact that the Maldives has had the highest national divorce rate in the world for many decades. This, it is hypothesised, is due to a combination of liberal Islamic rules about divorce and the relatively loose marital bonds that have been identified as common in non- and semi-sedentary peoples without a history of fully developed agrarian property and kinship relations.[109]

Velana International Airport
is the principal gateway to the Maldives. International travel is available on a number of major airlines. Two Maldives based airlines also operate international flights. Privately owned MEGA Maldives Airlines
has Boeing 737 and 767 aircraft and operates frequent services to Beijing, Shanghai, and Hong Kong. Government owned Island Aviation Services
(branded as Maldivian) operates to nearly all Maldives domestic airports with several Bombardier Dash 8
aircraft and one A320
with international service to Chennai and Thiruvananthapuram, India, and Dhaka, Bangladesh.

In Maldives there are three main ways to travel between islands: by domestic flight, by
seaplane
or by boat.[110]
For several years there were two seaplane companies operating: TMA (Trans Maldivian Airways
and Maldivian Air Taxi, but these merged in 2013 under the name TMA. The seaplane fleet is entirely made up of
DHC-6 Twin Otters. There is also another airline,
Flyme, which operates using
ATR
planes to domestic airports, principally Maamagili and some others. The typical Maldivian boat is called a dhoni. Depending on the distance of the destination island from the airport, resorts organise domestic flight plus boat transfers, seaplane flights directly to the resort island jetty, or speedboat trips for their guests. There are also locally run ferries using large dhoni boats. Speedboats and seaplanes tend to be more expensive, while travel by dhoni, although slower, is relatively cheaper and convenient.

To create, discover, preserve and disseminate knowledge that are necessary to enhance the lives and livelihoods of people and essential for the cultural, social and economic development of the society so that this nation shall remain free and Islamic forever.[111]

In 1973, the Allied Health Services Training Centre (the forerunner of the Faculty of Health Sciences) was established by the Ministry of Health. The Vocational Training Centre was established in 1974, providing training for mechanical and electrical trades. In 1984, the Institute for Teacher Education was created and the School of Hotel and Catering Services was established in 1987 to provide trained personnel for the tourist industry. In 1991, the Institute of Management and Administration was created to train staff for public and private services. In 1998, the Maldives College of Higher Education was founded. The Institute of Shar'ah and Law was founded in January 1999. In 2000 the college launched its first degree programme: Bachelor of Arts. On 17 January 2011 the Maldives National University Act was passed by the President of the Maldives; The Maldives National University was named on 15 February 2011.[112]

^
abHenley, Jon (11 November 2008).
"The last days of paradise".
The Guardian. London. Retrieved
12 May
2010.
[The Maldives] holds the record for the country with the lowest high point on earth: nowhere on the Maldives does the natural ground level exceed 2.3m. Most of [the Maldives'] land mass, which totals roughly one-fifth of Greater London, is a great deal lower [...], averaging around 1.5m.